Sarawak World Harvest Festival 2011 to hold two pre-events this weekend

KUCHING: The organising committee of the World Harvest Festival 2011 (WHF 2011) will be holding two activities this weekend to create greater awareness on this annual festival as they gear up for the actual event to be held on May 28 and 29 at Sarawak Cultural Village.

First event to take place tomorrow will be the Preliminary Round of Ironman World Harvest Festival 2011 at the Chinese Museum’s compound in Kuching Waterfront from 8.30am until noon.

Participants of this competition will be put through various tasks to test their skills and strength such as lifting gunny sack weighing around 50kg, where the organising committee will select 15 strong men to enter the finals.

This Sunday, the 15 finalists of Miss World Harvest Festival 2011 will gather at the Sarawak Cultural Village for the Miss Photogenic World Harvest Festival 2011 photoshoot session. This photoshoot session is organised by The Collective and it is open to all photographers who are interested to enter the competition.

The winner for Miss Photogenic World Harvest Festival 2011 will received RM700, a sash, 16R photo size with frame and a portfolio album. The best photographer will also received cash price. The winners will be announced on the Grand Final of Miss World Harvest Festival 2011.

The photoshoot competition aims to enhance the publicity and ticket sales for the grand event.

Pre-event tickets are on sale at the Sarawak Cultural Village for RM25 per adult and RM15 per child before May 20.

Actual tickets prices are RM60 and RM30 respectively.

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Sarawak Rainforest World Crafts Bazaar is back

KUCHING: The Rainforest World Crafts Bazaar is back this year at the Sarawak Cultural Village from July 8-10.

According to a press release, the Rainforest World Crafts Bazaar is sited right within the Rainforest World Music Festival venue, a cultural event that needs no description — it is the best in the region by any standards!

Over 20,000 music fans turned up last year, many of them ‘repeaters’ who are sure to make their way again to Damai in July.

The Rainforest World Crafts Bazaar’s theme for 2011 is ‘Green Crafts’, with crafts made from natural, sustainable and/or recycled materials being featured and promoted.

Local institutions of higher learning will be showing the way when it comes to putting almost anything to creative use.

Special stress is laid on practical craftwork this year. A number of skilled artisans will not only demonstrate their traditional skills, but also give hands-on lessons to anybody prepared to try out something that is old in itself but new to the eager learner.

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Sarawak tourism ministry urged to maximise use of Sarawak river

KUCHING: The Tourism Ministry has been urged to maximize the use of the as an alternative transportation network in the city to help ease traffic congestion around the Sarawak RiverKuching Waterfront, as well as enhance the appeal of the state’s tourism industry.

Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) chairman Datuk Seri Muhammad Leo Michael Toyad Abdullah said the state government planned to introduce water taxis as a public transport system for locals and tourists.

Speaking at a reception for a group of media representatives after the launch of the new Sarawak River Cruise package, here yesterday, Muhammad Leo said the initiative would start with 10 to 20 water taxis to meet the needs of locals and tourists.

“The concept is similar to what the Melaka government has introduced. The difference is that in Melaka, water taxis are geared for the tourism sector, whereas, here, we are trying to use them for public transportation as well,” he added.

Muhammad Leo also suggested an increase in the number of cruise ships for the Sarawak River Cruise to further develop tourism and business sectors in the state, which has been dubbed “The Land of Hornbills.”

He said the cruise service was “unique” and had potential for continued progress in the future, particularly as a venue for the government and corporate sectors to organise meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.

“Sometimes, people want a change, a break from the normal pattern. During those times, they can hold these events onboard the Sarawak River Cruise for a change, and be treated to a spectacular sunset in the process,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sarawak River Cruise managing director Fiona Marus Rasa said the company had only one cruise ship for the service so far, which sets sail from Kuching Waterfront at 5.30pm.

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Sabah eyes RM4.7 billion in tourism receipts this year

KOTA KINABALU: Tourist arrivals to Sabah are expected to increase to 2.6 million with receipts of RM4.7 billion this year from 2.5 million and RM4.4 billion, respectively last year, said Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Masidi Majun.

“We will not be attracting more numbers, but rather focusing on quality, high yield and long staying visitors,” he said at the opening of a forum themed ‘From Philanthropy to Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)’ at a leading hotel here yesterday.

It was organised by Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM) and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS).

Compared with the national tourist arrivals for 2010 which recorded 26.4 million visitors and generating RM56.5 billion in receipts (estimated at RM1 billion a week), Masidi said Sabah only had a ten per cent share of arrivals and 13 per cent in receipts.

He added that the state needed to develop high quality physical infrastructure, as well as maintaining high standards and services of existing facilities.

“Tourism development in Sabah in the past was guided by the 1st Sabah Tourism Masterplan (STMP) 1996-2010,” he said, adding that the 2nd STMP (2011-2025) has identified many challenges which the state has to overcome to bring the tourism industry to the next level.

“The most challenging is improving infrastructure for accessibility (to interesting spots in the interior).” Citing Gunung Trusmadi, Malaysia’s second highest peak after Mount Kinabalu, he said there was no proper road leading to the foothill.

Masidi said accessibility is a problem in Sabah. Most of the tourist arrivals are by air, whereas in the Peninsula there are good road linkages. He lamented that federal funding was either not enough or came too late for infrastructure development, resulting in insufficient time to implement.

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Borneo Jazz 2011 kicks off today

MIRI: Borneo Jazz 2011 commences today until Sunday at ParkCity Everly Hotel.

The festival promises an enjoyable experience with artistes hailing from every corner of the globe – India, China, Japan, France, Brazil, Holland, Australia, United States, Canada and Malaysia.

The event, organised by Sarawak Tourism Board hopes to generate RM10 million in revenue and targets a crowd of 10,500 this year.

Sarawak Tourism Board chief executive officer Rashid Khan yesterday disclosed that responses from the tickets sales are very encouraging.

He also said around 60 per cent of the crowd are from outside Sarawak.

Eight bands will heat up the festival’s stage this year.

They are Maria Muldaur (USA), State of Monc (Holland), Yuchiro Tokuda’s Ralyzz Dig (Japan), Victor Yong & Electric Carnival Band (Malaysia/Canada), Les Doigts De L’Homme (France), John Hammond (USA), Cunha & Piper (Brazil/Australia) and SIU2 (China).

Four bands will be performing each night.

Opening the festival will be the respected guitar player from Mumbai – Dhruv.

He will perform at the opening night, tonight at Marina Seafood Restaurant.

Joining him will be ‘CQuence’, a band formed in 2008 by a multicultural group of friends in Miri.

The opening night is open to the public and dinner is included in the cost of tickets.

Grammy award winner, John Hammond who has repeatedly been voted as one of the top 10 blues artistes in the world, will take the stage tomorrow night with his combination of brilliant guitar and rack harmonica performance.

Hong Kong’s Ng Cheuk-yin, a sheng (mouth-organ) wizard, will also be present and he will be taking this five thousand year old instrument well into the 21st Century, promising to produce an unimaginably rich and unique new jazz sound.

His ‘SIU2’ augments the traditional jazz rhythm section of bass, drums, and piano with other traditional Chinese instruments such as the ‘sanxien’ and the ‘zheng’.

Les Doigts de L’Homme will take gypsy jazz to the next level.

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